Tag Archives: Mali

Up until yesterday’s post we’ve been sharing records from the 80s on back so why not continue on the new music wave. Here we have a 2017 release from Mali’s Oumou Sangaré, who through her music and being an entrepreneur is an outspoken advocate for women’s rights. Here’s one my favorites tracks from this LP, which forges a perfect blend between traditional and modern sounds to get you moving. I highly recommend picking this one up

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It’s been a minute since we last posted records here, ok a few months. But that hasn’t meant we’ve stopped collecting with the purpose of sharing. We are on a mission to spread as much amazing music from around the world as possible—soon we will be making our debut in iTunes so stay tuned for that.

Meanwhile I have an 7 inch EP record by Sorry Bamba. I’m just now learning about his musical legacy and have quickly taken to this Malian trumpeter. Bamba came up with his band Group Goumbé right as Mali won it’s independence from France (June 1960) and during a time when there was a big initiative by the new government to support musicians. Here’s a great article about Bamba from the UK Guardian from a few years ago.

This particular record is from his earlier years (1960s) on the Ivorian label Djima Records. In much of Central and West Africa, Cuban/Latin music was the rage during the 60s and as was often the case young musicians took it and blended it with their own traditions and available instruments, usually just electric guitars and horns. If you appreciate the rawness of simple recordings and the excitement of this era of African music I think you’ll really enjoy this.

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This 1977 recording brought together many of Mali’s finest singers and musicians, at a time when the country had not yet celebrated twenty-years of independence. Groups like this one were part of a larger project of nation-building, creating a Malian musical identity out of many different ethnic traditions: Griot, Malenke, Wassolu, and others. Though the Ensemble used traditional instruments, it was doing something very bold: making music for a new country to call its own. It featured vocalists Hawa Drame, Mande Kouyate, and Cumba Sidibe (who passed away a little over a year ago in New York City); and musicians like Djelimbadj Sisoko, probably better known as a member of Bamako’s famous Rail Band.